The 10 Biggest Ant-Man Easter Eggs

(Warning – this article is very much designed for those who’ve already seen Marvel’s Ant-Man, as well as for those who want to know what to look out for when they do. Plot SPOILERS have been kept to a minimum, but it’s still by no means SPOILER-free down there…)

So. Ant-Man.

It may not have been on the receiving end of quite as feverish a dose of media-buzz as its predecessors in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but the Peyton Reed-directed film is just as full to bursting with classic Marvel awesomeness as the adventures which came before it. What’s more, it’s also practically overflowing with exactly the sort of hints, teases and Easter eggs that we’ve come to expect from Marvel Studios.

Below are 10 of the most intriguing…

First up:

10. THAT Pre-Credits Sequence

Specifically, one that features cameos from Howard Stark (once again played by John Slattery) and, of course, Peggy Carter. Less ‘blink-and-you’ll-miss-it,’ this one, and more ‘get-to-the-movie-theater-on-time…’

9. A Very Particular Hotel Name

Specifically, the Milgrom hotel, presumably named after Marvel comic book writer and artist Al Milgrom. Milgrom has a whole lot of history penciling and scribing a wide range of Marvel properties, but it’s his time working on West Coast Avengers back in the 1980s – with Hank Pym featuring heavily as a scientific adviser – that likely won him a nod here.

8. A Tattoo with Some Real History to it

Specifically, remember The Ten Rings from the Iron Man franchise? Well, keep your eyes peeled for a neck tattoo that might just remind you of the organization…

7. An Astonishing Tale

At one point, the villainous Darren Cross comments:

“Silly I know. Propaganda. Tales To Astonish!”

Which, as fans of the silver age of comics will recall, was the title of the comic book in which Hank Pym made his first appearance back in 1962…

6. An Intriguing Character Composite

Fans of the comics may be a little thrown by the fact that Corey Stoll’s Darren Cross bears relatively little resemblance to his comic book counterpart. Instead, he’s been intriguingly combined with Hank Pym’s distinctly-disturbed alter-ego Yellowjacket, with a dash of suit design from a more recent incarnation of Ant-Man (Eric O’Grady) thrown in for good measure.

Similarly, Hope van Dyne has a whole lot more in common with the comic book version of her mother, Janet – the original Wasp – than she does with the original Hope, a villainous character from an alternate comic book reality.

5. The Micro-Verse (Sort of)

Now, Ant-Man very much stays away from defining the sub-atomic reality it features as the Microverse – its Marvel comic book equivalent – but when you’re describing “a reality where all concepts of time and space are irrelevant” in a Marvel movie, it’s tough not to start picturing an alternate version of one of Marvel Comics’ strangest locales…

4. Cut Off One Head…

…and two more inevitably take its place.

That, y’see, is why we probably shouldn’t have assumed that the events of Avengers: Age of Ultron would actually bring down HYDRA once and for all – and why we see them return in Ant-Man…

3. Stan-the-Man Is Still Hanging Around

And this time, he’s rocking the least-Stan Lee voice ever heard – largely because he’s playing a bartender, lip-synching along to some distinctly streetwise narration.

2. Spidey’s Already Swinging…

Or, at least, someone is.

We are, after all, told that there’s already a guy who jumps, swings, and climbs up walls…

And if that doesn’t confirm that Spider-Man’s already hanging around the MCU, it’s hard to know what will…

And, finally:

1. The Wasp Is On Her Way

The movie does, after all, end with Evangeline Lilly’s Hope van Dyne being given a very particular gift – one that might just tease a big future for her character (and the legendary Wasp).

Except, of course, there’s also one last, post-credits, scene – but the little fella’s more of a set-up for Captain America: Civil War than anything else, so that’s a story for another day…